Need to Know
by toolezbionic
Summary: "I'm gonna zip over to the store and get you a pregnancy test. We're going to find out." He said very matter-of-factly, as if it were obvious. "But it's three in the morning."


A/N: Warning, it's unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine.

Happy Fluff Friday!

* * *

It was late when Barry came into their bedroom, sore and exhausted from a drawn out battle with the latest meta-human terrorizing Central City. Iris was grateful for all the check in texts he'd sent her, assuring her that he was okay and would be home as soon as he could; otherwise she would have more to worry about on top of everything that was already occupying her mind. She'd been lying in bed when he got home, in the same spot she had been in for hours after an incident at CCPN causing her to leave work early.

When he got into his pajamas and crawled in next her, he pulled Iris in to be the big spoon to her little spoon. Needing his arms around her all day, she closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the comfort his embrace for a little while, before jumping in and saying what she'd been anxiously waiting to tell him.

"Barr?" Iris spoke softly, not sure if he had fallen asleep already.

"Hmmmm?" He responded in a low hum that almost sounded like a snore.

Even though her suspicions had felt like a tremendous weight as she waited for him to come home, she was beginning to realize maybe now wasn't the best time to tell him. He was so tired after the fight; he might not even hear her. It was probably best to just let him rest. "Never mind. You can go back to sleep. I can tell you in the morning." Iris tried not to sound disappointed.

Barry moved in closer to her and tightened his hold around her middle. "No, you sound concerned. You can tell me now. I want to know."

Iris turned around in his arms and saw one eye cracked open in a lame attempt to convince her he wasn't too tired to listen. A part of her felt guilty and just wanted to insist that she could wait, but she knew that the more she fought him on it, the more he would want to know.

So she took a deep breathe in preparation, knowing that she was about to drop a huge bomb on him.

"I think that I might be pregnant."

In an instant, it was like he hadn't been sleeping at all. He shot up like a rocket, blanket flying off the upper half of his body, and an expression on his face so shocked it was almost comical. "Pre-I…you… w-what?" He stammered.

"Barry, breathe. Okay?"

He turned to switch on the bedside lamp and winced as his eyes adjusted to the light. Then he turned back to Iris and tried to sound a little more relaxed. _Tried_ being the key word. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, first of all, I kinda passed out at work today."

"You what?! Why didn't you call me?"

Iris quickly shook her head when she realized that she put it the wrong way and took his hand. "Sorry, I made it sound worse than it actually was. I just fell asleep on my keyboard, but I'm fine. Scott let me go home for the day if I promised to email him the finished article tonight, which I did."

"You still should have called me." His eyes were lined with concern.

"Really, babe, there was no need. Linda even offered to take me home on her lunch break so I wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel. Besides, you already had enough to deal with."

Barry took a second to consider her words and must have realized that he wasn't making it any easier for her to get her story out. He took another breath and he was finally visibly calmed down. "Fine. Continue."

"Thank you." She kissed his hand and continued on. "Anyway, it's not like it's all that surprising that I've been so tired. I mean, I've been working like crazy and pulling way too many all-nighters, part of me just wanted to assume that the lack of sleep was finally catching up to me. But, I don't know. Lately I've also felt a little off. Not really sick; just different. When I got home it kept bugging me and I didn't understand why until I realized that I haven't gotten my period yet."

Barry nodded along as he listened closely. "How late are you?"

"Nine days. I know that it could just be the extra stress piled on me lately but it isn't like I haven't been in more stressful situations before and I have never been more than two or three days late."

He reached his hand to the back of his head and rubbed his neck, the way he always did when his mind was going a mile a minute. She wished she knew what was going on in that chaotic head of his, but it wasn't long until he climbed out of bed and spun into his Flash suit.

Iris' brows furrowed in confusion. "Barry, what are you doing?"

gonna zip over to the store and get you a pregnancy test. We're going to find out." He said very matter-of-factly, as if it were obvious.

"But it's three in the morning."

"There's a drug store a couple miles away that's open all night. It'll take me two seconds."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather wait until morning?"

"There is no way I am going to be able to sleep without knowing for sure."

She tried to be the rational one, but Iris secretly knew that she really didn't want to wait either. That's why she couldn't help bringing it up in the first place. She had already spent so much time bed waiting for sleep to come, but she couldn't manage to drift off. Not after the conclusion she had come to. She knew it would be extra impossible with her husband fidgeting around her all night. "You're right. I don't think I will be able to either, no matter how tired I am. Go ahead."

He smiled and nodded. "Be back in a flash."

Iris rolled her eyes at his departing line and thought _'that man is such a…'_

He sped back into the room with a shopping bag in his hand.

'… _dork'_

"Okay, that was quick. Even for you. Didn't you stop to pay?" She questioned.

"I forgot to bring normal clothes, and there was no way I was going to walk up to the register in my suit and hand the cashier a pregnancy test. I left the money for everything on the counter."

"Everything?"

"Five tests, a bottle of water, and this." He took one of the items out of the bag and threw it onto her lap.

"Chili chocolate! Yum!" She exclaimed excitedly, already tearing into the wrapper.

"You had a long day, and yet you're humoring your crazy husband." He shrugged it off. "I know it's one of your favorites."

That was so like him.

She pulled him down for a kiss. "Thank you, Barr. You're the best crazy husband ever."

* * *

"I can't go."

"You drank that entire liter of water. There's no way you don't have to go."

She sat on the toilet holding the test between her legs just under the rim of the bowl, while Barry sat two feet away from her on the edge of the tub, left leg bouncing nervously.

"I didn't say I don't have to go. I said I _can't_ go. Not with you breathing down my neck."

"Maybe this is a sign that you aren't pregnant." He said as if he didn't hear her. "Don't pregnant women have to pee all the time?"

"Yeah, when the baby is big enough to start using their bladder as a water bed." Iris grumbled with frustration. She was tired. She was anxious. He needed to get out if this was ever going to happen. "Now go wait in the other room and give me some privacy."

He pouted a little, but stood up to do as she said. "Fine, but don't look at the stick without me."

"I won't. I'll come out as soon as I'm done peeing on the thing and we'll wait for the results together."

* * *

They were sitting on the window seat of their bedroom, Barry staring down at his watch until Iris said his name and he turned toward her.

"Barr?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…" She started slowly, not sure she wanted to ask what pressing her mind. "…want it to be positive?"

"I-um-I…." His eyes widened a little, not sure if there was a right or wrong answer to the question.

"It's okay, Barry. Say whatever you feel."

Barry took a second to look down at the test she was holding and thought about it before looking back at her. "I guess I don't really know how to feel. It still seems a little unreal, you know? Part of me is kind of excited by the idea, but I don't think a sure feeling will set in until whether or not it _is_ real." She could see a hint of a smile pull on his lips. He was obviously happier about this than he was letting on. "What about you?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, wondering how honest she should be. She was stressing over this. A lot. So many questions and fears have been building up in her, and even though she was sure that she wanted to be a mother someday, she didn't know if she was ready yet. But Barry brought her hand down from being tangled in her hair and interlaced her fingers with his instead. It was his way of showing his support no matter what.

"I've had hours to sit on the possibility that I might be pregnant, but I think I'm still where you're at with this. About not really knowing how to feel until I know if I really am pregnant." She rubbed a thumb over his knuckles and eased into her explanation. "I mean, if you would have come up to me and asked if I wanted to try for a baby, I would've probably said we should hold off for a while. We've only been married for a few months, and I have finally been getting some good assignments that don't involve writing about The Flash –not that I don't love writing about you." He nodded, always understanding how she felt about her need to do more with career than just getting the exclusive on him saving the day.

"I've just been expanding my career and I have also loved our time with just the two of us." She gave his hand a squeeze and resituated herself so she could lay her head against his shoulder. "I'm not saying that I don't want to be pregnant. I guess I just thought we'd wait. But I know these things can happen without planning it, and now that it might have, I can't say part of me isn't excited about it too." Iris tilted her head so she could look at his face and he stared back down at her, eyes loving and warm. She thought about their child inheriting those remarkable green beauties and her heart swelled. "I know I want to have kids with you, Barry. If this is when we are meant to have them, then I'm on board. Plus, things have been relatively safer lately, right?"

"There's been an evil metahuman on the loose here and there, but nothing I can't handle." He remarked with his usual confidence. "Even if there was a big bad out there right now, there isn't a chance in hell I would let them come anywhere near you. Pregnant or not."

"I know."

Barry looked down at his watch again and straightened up when he realized they had passed two minutes.

"It's time."

* * *

"What are you doing now?"

"Calling Joe!" Barry exclaimed as he searched the room for his phone. When he saw it sitting on his nightstand he quickly grabbed it and scrolled through his contacts for the number, forgetting that he had him on speed dial. Barry was beaming.

Iris laughed over his enthusiasm. "Babe, it's almost four."

"Oh, come on. He's going to be a Paw Paw! He'll be so happy he'll completely forget that I woke him up."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Paw Paw?"

"Oh, yeah. He told me that his grandkids were going to call him Paw Paw. He insisted upon it, actually."

"When was this?"

"Before we were even officially together."

"Figures." She crossed her arms and gave out another short chuckle. "Alright, go ahead and call him. Just expect to hear me say 'I told you so' when he rips you a new one for waking him up. You know as well as I do what an ogre he can be when he hasn't gotten a full nights rest."

"He never gets a full nights rest." Barry waved it off. "And at least this time it's because of something he'd actually be super psyched about." He said, trying to justify his over eagerness. When he found Joe's name in his contacts, he clicked the call button without a second thought.

" _Yes, Barr? What is it? Everything alright?"_ he sounded worried, but still obviously half asleep.

"Yes!" He said louder than he really needed to. "Great actually! Guess what?"

" _How about I don't guess and you tell me what's going on?"_

 _This I going well already_ , Barry thought.

"Iris and I are having a baby! We literally just found out!"

" _That's wonderful."_ He tried to muster all the excitement he could, but he was already starting to drift off again. _"Remind me in the morning, will ya?"_

When they hung up, Barry tossed the phone back on the nightstand and moved back over to his wife.

"How did it go?" She asked.

"He didn't take my head off sooo…" He gives her a thumbs up and a wide smile.

Iris put her hands on either side of his face, gave him one long kiss on the lips and two more little ones. "Does that mean we can go to bed now?"

"I don't think I can sleep."

"Well _try_." She moved her hands from his face to his arm and gently tugged him toward the bed. "For me, your pregnant wife who now needs to sleep for two?"

"Fiiiiiiinnnnnneeee." He lagged like a child being told it was his bedtime. "Just had to play that card." He tumbled onto the bed, pulling her along with him so she fell on top.

"Expect me to play it a lot."

* * *

A/N: Depending on whether you guys want it or not, I am thinking about making a collection of one shots based on WestAllen expecting the Tornado Twins. I'm not turning it into a multi-chapter, because I can't see myself committing. After enough unfinished fanfiction I have for once decided to be realistic for once. And, as I said, I don't have a beta. At least not for this fandom. If anyone wants the job, I would appreciate the help.


End file.
